Pirates of the Caribbean Novelization
by aerith00
Summary: [STATIC] Yes, I know there's already an official novel written, but this is only for my personal enjoyment and practice. Pirates of the Caribbean and all its components are completely and fully copyright to its original owner! The empire of Disney, bwa ha
1. 01 Memories from the Foggy Haze

Pirates of the Caribbean Novelization

Chapter One: Memories from the Foggy Haze

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The expanse of the open sea was covered with a thick fog, leaving no man able to see 10 feet past his own face. In respect to the dim atmosphere, no sound was heard moving through the still air. But on one sleek solitary ship moving through the water, a young girl stood at the prow singing softly to herself, innocent of the ways of the sea and the creatures that lived there.

"We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, drink up me hearties yo ho," she sang. "Yo ho yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack, drink up ---"

Her singing was abruptly cut off when a hand suddenly gripped her shoulders and she spun around with a gasp of frightened surprise. An old sailor looked down at her with a warning look. "Hush now missy," he said. "Cursed pirates sail these waters." He narrowed his eyes and leaned down to look closely at her. "You don't want to bring them down on us now do ya?"

"Mr. Gibbs that will do," another man's voice cut in, the authority present in it making both the sailor and girl turn around towards the officer who spoke.

"She was singing about pirates," Gibbs exclaimed. "It's unlucky to be singing about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog." His tone grew foreboding towards the end as he glanced around at the misty air covering the ship. "Mark my words."

"Consider them marked," the officer dully replied. "On your way."

"Aye Lieutenant," the sailor said as he nodded in submission and moved away from the prow and back to his work. "It's bad luck to have a woman aboard too," he mumbled as he passed. "Even a miniature one..." With that he was silent, pointedly taking swings from his whiskey bottle.

"I think it'd be rather exciting to meet a pirate," the girl chimed in seriously, oblivious to the controls of power vs. servitude.

The lieutenant smiled grimly and walked over to stand next to her, staring out into the fog. "Think again Ms. Swann," he said. "Vile and dissolute creatures the lot of them. I intend to see that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves..." Here he paused before glancing down at the girl and smiling softly. "A short drop and a sudden stop."

Confused, the girl glanced back towards her father, who had been standing next to the lieutenant previously, but instead she saw Gibbs, clenching his collar in one fist above his head and his neck tilted in a strange way, wearing a twisted expression. The girl understood the message and gasped, looking back at the lieutenant in disgust.

Here is where another man interjected, stepping up onto the prow between the girl and the officer. "I appreciate your fervor Lieutenant Norrington," he said. "But I am concerned about the affect this subject will have upon my daughter."

"My apologies Governor Swann," Norrington replied, moving back to his position, not noticing the sallow look the girl gave him as he passed.

Then her expression changed as she looked up at her father. "Actually I find it all fascinating," she chirped.

"Yes, that's what concerns me," her father replied grimly. The girl pursed her lips at the rebuke and stayed silent as her father moved back to stand next to Norrington again. It was not proper for young ladies to be interested in pirates; that she knew well. The girl turned around to escape her father's watchful look and moved her gaze towards the water, where something drifting along the waves caught her eye. She moved along the rail of the ship, following the object until it came closer. It was a fancy umbrella, made of lace. But why was such a thing floating the in middle of the ocean? The girl looked up to see if she could find any similar objects, but instead saw and even stranger thing to her eyes.

"Look! A boy! There's a boy in the water!" she called back to the men, whipping around and pointing down towards the driftwood which carried the boy.

The men, officers and sailors alike, hurried to the side of the ship look where she gestured. "Man overboard!" Norrington yelled. "Man the ropes! Fetch a hook! Haul him aboard." The sailors efficiently went to work, and the boy was quickly pulled onto the deck as the girl stayed off to the side and gazed on in curiosity. After examining the boy, Norrington breathed a small sigh of relief. "He's still breathing," he said.

But all good feelings were shunted aside by Gibbs, hanging across the ropes and staring out into the sea ahead of them. Everyone heard him murmur, "Mary, Mother of God..."

The girl turned around to see what other surprises lay before them, and her shocked expression did not summarize what the men felt as they rushed to the sides of the ship again, at almost twice the speed of before. Everyone stared out at another ship with lay prostrate in the water a head of them, covered in flames, supplies strewn through the surrounding sea. "What happened here?" Governor Swann asked, his voice showing the shock he was feeling even if his face did not.

"Most likely the powder magazine," Norrington answered stoically. "Merchant vessels run heavily armed."

The fire crackled through the air, intimidating no one into speaking until once again Gibbs broke the silence. "A lot of good it did them. Everyone's thinking it. I'm just saying it," he said with a glance of apprehension around his fellow shipmates, before turning back to the inferno wreck with finality. "Pirates."

Governor Swann laughed nervously at his statement. "There's no proof of that," he answered. "It... It's... probably just an accident."

"Rouse the captain immediately," Norrington commanded another officer, walking away from the theorizing and purposefully towards another part of the ship. "Heave to and take in sail. Launch the boats."

Meanwhile through all the scared realizations, the girl had wandered to the boy and was standing over him, examining his face. But before she could do this long a sailor came and picked up the boy to move him to a higher platform so he wouldn't get caught in the rush of sailors leaving to search the wreck. Her father was suddenly beside her, and leaned down towards his daughter to converse with her. "Elizabeth," he said, "I want you to accompany the boy. He'll be in your charge. Take care of him." The girl nodded and moved to follow the sailor, not seeing the grim look that came to cover her father's face as she left.

Elizabeth reached the platform and saw the boy had been left alone again. Now that he was higher up, she had a much better look at him; he was thoroughly soaked, with torn clothes and dark hair plastered to his head by the seawater. Elizabeth moved to brush the hair away from his face, but at her touch the boy suddenly awoke with a desperate gasp and clutched her arm in a death grip. Elizabeth jumped at his actions but then forced herself to take a deep breath and speak calmly. "It's okay," she said. "My name's Elizabeth Swann."

The boy looked up at her, his eyes wide as he struggled to start breathing again. "Will Turner," he managed to gasp out.

Elizabeth smiled softly and reached to comfort him. "I'm watching over you Will."

The boy blinked as he looked at her with an empty expression in his eyes, before falling back onto the platform and into unconsciousness. Elizabeth sighed and leaned forward to examine him more. Noticing a small chain clinging to his neck, Elizabeth moved the remains of his shirt away to find a round, golden medallion hanging from it, decorated with several runes and the shapes of bones and the skull in the center. Elizabeth's breath caught as she glanced back and forth between the medallion and the boy. "You're a... pirate," she murmured in wonder.

"Has he said anything?" Norrington's voice cut in.

Elizabeth quickly hid the medallion in her hands and spun around to face him. "His name's Will Turner," she said. "That's all I found out."

Norrington nodded and motioned to the sailors. "Take him below."

Elizabeth quickly moved away from the crowd to stand at the rear of the ship beneath the flag, staring out into the now frightening expanse of emptiness before her, full of swirling fog that was no longer still. Lost in her thoughts, she cautiously uncovered the medallion and held it out in front of her face to examine it once more, but a shadow beyond the object caught her eye.

Drifting through the sea behind her vessel was a dark mass of a ship, long and streamline, its sails colored black but ripped through with holes, leaving one to wonder how it managed to move through the water. A black flag sporting a white skull and crossed bones flew defiantly above the ship like a banner. Unable to look away, Elizabeth stared dumbly at it and blinked hard, trying to clear her head...

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Author's Note on Chapter One: Well, here we go! What do you all think? Actually, I think the first chapter turned out better than I expected. Writing a novel version of something like a movie can be a good and even fun exercise for working on your descriptive skills : D I think I will very much enjoy writing this novelization. And yes, I know "novelization" isn't an actual word, but I am going to use it anyway because it accurately describes what I'm trying to do. Next is chapter two.


	2. 02 A New Day: Elizabeth and Will

Pirates of the Caribbean Novelization

Chapter Two: A New Day (Elizabeth and Will)

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A young woman awoke from her dream with a start, clutching the pillow beneath her head and glancing around the candlelit room, the memories still vivid in her mind. Still caught up in the contents of her dream, the woman took the candle next to her bed and walked over to a chest of drawers, one of which she quietly slid open, containing several books and trinkets. But these she set aside as the drawer was quickly emptied out. Then she removed the small board that appeared to be the bottom of the drawer to reveal a hidden compartment, where the medallion lay as it had for 10 years, the gray dust covering the wood below it but leaving a ring of brown where it they had touched.

The woman took out the medallion and held it out before turning towards a mirror next her and placing the chain around her neck. Years of being locked up in her drawers had caused the tarnish to grow and the gold was no longer as shiny as it had once been, but regained some of it's gleam when she wiped her fingers across the surface before placing it on. The woman gazed at her reflection in the mirror but more specifically the medallion she now wore. She had found it strung around a boy's neck, and now as then it had a strange look to it, almost a foreboding. She had hidden it all this time, but how could she have forgotten about it?

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and an older man's voice called to her through. "Elizabeth?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

Broken out of her thoughts, Elizabeth rushed to grab her robe and put it on, struggling a bit in her hurry. "Are you decent?" her father asked again.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied quickly as she finally succeeded in pulling the robe around her. She could hear them fiddling with the door to open it, and called again louder. "Yes!" Remembering the medallion, Elizabeth quickly stuffed it down the neck of her nightgown as they entered, then popped up straight to smile at her father properly.

Her father strolled into the room casually followed by two maids, to her relief not noticing anything amiss in Elizabeth's appearance; for even though she was slightly out of breath, she forced herself to look serene and graceful. "Are you still in bed at this hour?" the governor asked with a smile. "It's a beautiful day." Elizabeth smiled politely in reply as one of the maids, Martha, opened the window and the bright Caribbean sun spilled into the room, causing Elizabeth to blink at the sudden brightness.

Her father's smile grew wider as another maid brought forward a large box. "I have something for you," he said as Martha opened it for his daughter to see, revealing a beautiful new dress.

"It's beautiful," Elizabeth gasped as she pulled the dress out, then turned to walk behind the dressing screen but suddenly paused and glanced back at her father. "May I inquire as to the occasion?"

Her father laughed briskly. "Does a father need an excuse to dote upon his daughter?" he asked in reply, causing a bright smile from Elizabeth. She quickly moved behind the dressing screen to change accompanied by the maids, who began to dress her. As she began to throw her nightclothes over the side of the screen, her father glanced around nervously before continuing. "Actually," he said. "I was hoping you would wear it to the ceremony today."

"Ceremony?"

Governor Swann cleared his throat. "Captain Norrington's promotion ceremony."

Elizabeth stuck her head out from behind the screen and stared at her father. "I knew it," she said accusingly.

"Commodore Norrington, as he's about to become," her father replied with the usual smile. "A fine gentleman don't you think? He fancies you, you know."

Elizabeth didn't quite notice what he was saying due to the fact that she was currently being tied inside what was called a corset, which did not produce the best feeling in the world. With the tightening of a lace she let out a great gasp of surprise and pain as she abruptly felt all the air leave her lungs.

"Elizabeth?" her father called from the other side of the screen. "How's it coming?"

"It's difficult to say," Elizabeth struggled to reply.

Her father didn't seem to comprehend though. "I'm told it's the newest fashion in London."

"Well, women in London must of learned not to breath," Elizabeth replied tartly, her tone becoming unintentionally sharp as more laces were tied, jerking her around and taking away more air.

Her father was saved from thinking of a reasonable reply when a butler walked into the room and interrupted the conversation. "Milord, you have a visitor."

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A young man with dark hair stood nervously alone in the entry hall with a long case under his arm, examining the house around him in a self-conscious manner. He had not had the chance to enter the governor's house very often in his life, so he had never really gotten comfortable there, or even remembered what it looked like inside half the time.

Whenever he was about to move a certain direction to look at a part of the house closer, a servant would walk by and ignore him, but he would snap up straight anyway and try to appear as if he was doing nothing. At one particular lull in the passersby, the man moved closer to an array of candlesticks on the wall and reached up to examine one, but at his touch the arm broke off with a dull crack. He could hear another servant coming, and nervously glanced around to hide the offending object. The man hurriedly hid it in the bin directly below, then quickly moved away from it as a precaution of not breaking anything else.

"Ah, Mr. Turner, nice to see you again," he heard Governor Swann say as the older man came down the stairs and into the entry hall.

"Good day sir," Will replied, trying to sound confident as he strolled over to place the case on a table next to where the Governor now stood. "I have your order." He opened the case and tried to suppress a shy smile that threatened to spread over his face at the mention of his package. Will reached into the case and pulled out the brand-new sword that he had delivered and solemnly handed it to Governor Swann, who examined the sword with a nobleman's eye. "The blade is folded steel," Will explained. "That's gold filigree laid into the handle."

Realizing an idea that might further prove the sword's abilities, Will held out his hands. "If I may?" he asked. Governor Swann handed him the sword, which Will turned to balance on one finger. "Perfectly balanced," he said. "The tang is nearly the full width of the blade." Then with a flip and flourish, Will presented the sword back to Governor Swann, who laughed kindly.

"Impressive, very impressive," he complimented. "Now, now. Commodore Norrington is going to be very pleased with this." Will nodded and turned to pack up the sword back into its case as the governor made one more comment. "Do pass my confidence onto your master."

Will looked up at him, a bright smile spreading over his face. "I shall," he replied, then quickly looked down to cover his eagerness. "A craftsman is always willing to hear his work is appreciated."

A noise from the stairs caused both men to look upwards and see Elizabeth descending from her room after finally managing to put on the rest of the dress. She did not notice either of the men standing in the hall below her and only concentrated on being able to climb down the stairs, but of course did not put off this image.

"Oh Elizabeth," her father said as she appeared. "You look absolutely stunning."

Elizabeth glanced up at her father's voice and noticed both of them waiting for her, but most specifically their guest. "Will," she said happily, moving to descend the stairs faster. "It's so good to see you." Neither of them saw Will look at her wide-eyed, as he tried but couldn't think of a response.

"I had a dream about you last night," she said as she reached them, her voice still holding an excited tone.

Will blinked in slight surprise at her words. "About me?" he asked.

"Yes, yes," her father murmured to her in warning, "is that entirely proper for you--"

But Elizabeth ignored him and turned to face Will. "About the day we met. Do you remember?"

"How could I forget Miss Swann?" Will replied, secretly forcing his breath to remain regular and his voice restrained.

Elizabeth smiled at him sweetly and bent to look up at his eyes. "Will, how many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?"

"At least once more, Miss Swann," Will automatically said, then tried to smile politely but his efforts failed as the smile immediately died. "As always..."

Governor Swann took advantage of this familiar point in the conversation to interrupt. "There, see?" he said. "At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going. Come along" Then he ushered Elizabeth out the door to the carriage that was waiting, but not a moment before she looked up at Will, her face now serious and showing no familiarity.

"Good day Mr. Turner," she said properly, and then left to follow her father.

Will blinked at the rebuke, then rushed outside after Elizabeth, but several servants remained between them and in the rush he forced to keep back by the door as it closed behind him. "Good day!" he called back. Will sadly watched Elizabeth climb into the carriage, and let out his breath. "Elizabeth..." he murmured softly.

But she didn't hear him, and only looked back once before turning aside, not seeing Will attentively watch the carriage roll away from the gates of her house and out of sight.

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Author's Note on Chapter Two: The more I write something, the more I realize exactly how little skill I have. In the end, I'm afraid I'll end up butchering both the story and characters. But yeah, everyone who's reading this has very extremely likely to have seen the movie, so I guess you all know what I'm trying to get at. But still, it's a weird feeling (and not a very good one at that) to feel like your writing is horribly inadequate and fails to meet the bar. I also feel like I'm dragging things out in some areas, so perhaps I am putting in too much description? Eck.

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Review Feedback –

**Hannah Smith**: Wow! Thanks a lot. I will try to keep updating at least once a week.

**Bulletproof Dork**: Thanks a lot for giving feedback so quickly! I must admit that I did not expect to get a review so soon. Also, you have a very good point and after thinking about it I really have no great idea or reason why, which isn't a very good excuse and make me seem very pathetic doesn't it? But I'm glad you asked that question, because it's a good one! I don't want to seem as if I'm trying to write the marketed novel over again, because that's not what I'm trying to do. I haven't even read it but I wouldn't mind doing so eventually. And to tell the truth when I started this I didn't even think about the fact that there was already an official novel out in stores (though that might have been a good idea), which probably wouldn't have kept me from writing, but perhaps from showing it publicly. But yeah... I'm going around in circles here so to answer your question my guess would be: because I've read novelizations of other movies and some games before, so when I thought of doing this one day, it seemed like a neat idea. But yeah, I agree, it does seem kind of pointless in the end doesn't it? Thanks so much again.


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